The new Salvia cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Steve Eggleton, in Wonga Park, Victoria, Australia. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Salvia varieties with denser plant habits, strong garden performance, in a range of flower colors. The crossing resulting in this new variety was made during February of 2012.
The parent variety is Salvia hybrida ‘Eggben006’, unpatented. The pollen parent is Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,411. The new variety was identified as a potentially interesting selection in February 2013 at a research greenhouse in Wonga Park, Australia. The breeder propagated and made further observations regarding stability and quality of the new variety, making the final selection in April of 2014.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘IB304-2 PURPLE’ by vegetative cuttings was first performed during February 2013, at a research greenhouse in Wonga Park, Australia. Subsequent propagation has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type on most than six successive generations.